Fact Sheet
- Project: URB One
- Category: Mixed Use
- Location: Hazmieh, Lebanon
- Client: Hussein Ammar and Joe Matta
- Built-up area: 23,000 sqm
- Budget: 16M USD
- Year: 2013-2014
- Status: Completed
Credits
- Partner in Charge: Youssef Mallat
- Architect in Charge: Joy Traboulsi
- Team: Nada Assaf, Layal Aoun, Nadine Harake, Sandra Richani
Collaborators
- In collaboration with: Structural Consultant: BET Mattar | Electro-Mechanical Consultant: WTA and Associates
- Renders: Imagenatives
HAZ2 | A Multiuse Project.
Hazmieh is a suburban area rapidly heading towards urbanization, due to an increase in density. As a result, it is becoming a self-sufficient city at the expense of its green spaces and small-town spirit.
The area is in a state of flux, its identity growing hazy with change. Rather than fighting this transformation, multiuse project HAZ2 reflects and even embraces that progression while preserving familiar elements that came to define the area.
The 3,600 square-meter plot is one of the last green spaces in Hazmieh, surrounded by three roads: one noisy main street lined with retail shops; one calm road still under development; and one road connecting the two. The project intends to create a focal point between the crossroads with apartments, offices and a souk, while protecting existing green spaces.
Set on a base of retail spaces, two blocks form the project’s upper floors. One, facing the quiet border road, is a residential block. The other, acting as a buffer between the apartments and the chaotic main road, is dedicated to offices. By positioning the project on the far edges of the plot, the inner courtyard is granted maximum area. The common green space delineates the site’s borders, but connects with the community as a public space that bridges two roads on opposite sides.
The skin of each block is interactive, reflecting its building’s function and orientation. The east and west sides of the commercial block are protected from the sun with vertical elements, the south orientated side is protected by horizontal ones. The north, which has a position in less direct sunlight, has more openings. A protective layer of greenery is added to the Residential block.
The area is in a state of flux, its identity growing hazy with change. Rather than fighting this transformation, multiuse project HAZ2 reflects and even embraces that progression while preserving familiar elements that came to define the area.
The 3,600 square-meter plot is one of the last green spaces in Hazmieh, surrounded by three roads: one noisy main street lined with retail shops; one calm road still under development; and one road connecting the two. The project intends to create a focal point between the crossroads with apartments, offices and a souk, while protecting existing green spaces.
Set on a base of retail spaces, two blocks form the project’s upper floors. One, facing the quiet border road, is a residential block. The other, acting as a buffer between the apartments and the chaotic main road, is dedicated to offices. By positioning the project on the far edges of the plot, the inner courtyard is granted maximum area. The common green space delineates the site’s borders, but connects with the community as a public space that bridges two roads on opposite sides.
The skin of each block is interactive, reflecting its building’s function and orientation. The east and west sides of the commercial block are protected from the sun with vertical elements, the south orientated side is protected by horizontal ones. The north, which has a position in less direct sunlight, has more openings. A protective layer of greenery is added to the Residential block.
